John H. B. Latrobe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Hazelhurst Boneval Latrobe
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John H. B. Latrobe in 1860
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| Born | May 4, 1803 |
| Died | September 11, 1891 (aged 88) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
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| Resting place | Green Mount Cemetery Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Known for | Inventing the Latrobe Stove |
| Spouse(s) |
Margaret Caile Steuart
(m. 1828; died 1831)Charlotte Virginia Claiborne
(m. 1832) |
| Children | 8, including Ferdinand C. Latrobe |
| Parent(s) |
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| Relatives | Benjamin Henry Latrobe II (brother) |
John Hazlehurst Boneval Latrobe was a talented American lawyer, artist, and inventor. He is famous for creating the Latrobe Stove, a clever cast iron heater that helped warm thousands of American homes. He also worked for many years with major railroads and supported public parks, history museums, and creative writing.
Contents
Early Life and Family History
John was born on May 4, 1803, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was Benjamin Henry Latrobe, a very famous architect and engineer who helped design important national buildings. Growing up in a creative family helped young John develop many different talents.
As a teenager, John attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, between 1818 and 1821. He studied engineering there and learned how to build structures and solve technical puzzles. After his father passed away, John moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he decided to change careers. He began studying law under the guidance of a respected attorney named Robert Goodloe Harper.
In his personal life, John married Margaret Caile Steuart in 1828, and they had a son named Henry. Sadly, Margaret died a few years later in 1831. John married again in 1832 to Charlotte Virginia Claiborne in Natchez, Louisiana. Together, they raised a large family with seven more children, including Ferdinand C. Latrobe, who grew up to become mayor of Baltimore.
Career as an Inventor and Lawyer
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Latrobe officially became a lawyer in Maryland and worked briefly with his younger brother, Benjamin Henry Latrobe II. His brother soon left law to focus entirely on civil engineering, just like their father had done. John stayed with the legal profession and found exciting work with early American transportation companies.
John became the top legal counsel for the famous Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He handled complex property deals so the company could lay down its iron tracks across the countryside. In 1828, he wrote an important dedication speech to celebrate the railroad's official opening. Latrobe worked on new inventions for the company, including the early telegraph wire network along the tracks. His railroad duties led him to meet with Native American leaders from the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes. He even sailed across the ocean to Russia to negotiate business financing before the American Civil War.
The Famous Latrobe Stove
Even though Latrobe spent his days practicing law, his engineering mind never stopped working. In 1846, he patented a brand new home heating machine called the Latrobe Stove. People often called it the "Baltimore Heater" because of where it was created.
The heater was made out of sturdy cast iron and fit directly inside an existing brick fireplace. It burned coal efficiently to push cozy, warm air throughout the entire room. It was much more compact than the older Franklin stove designed by Benjamin Franklin. Latrobe worried that people would not take him seriously as a lawyer if he was famous for making stoves. Despite his shyness about it, the invention became a giant success, with over 300,000 stoves warming homes by 1878.
Community Leadership and Later Years
Latrobe loved to help his city and state build exciting cultural programs. He helped establish the American Bar Association for lawyers across the country and co-founded the Maryland Historical Society. He was also chosen as an honored member of the American Philosophical Society in 1854.
Latrobe cared about public recreation, helping to create Baltimore's large Druid Hill Park and guiding its development for decades. He also gave well-known lectures, such as a major 1854 talk about the history of the Mason–Dixon line for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Latrobe also loved the arts. He painted pictures, wrote poetry, and served as a judge in a Baltimore writing competition. During that contest, he helped pick a young, unknown author named Edgar Allan Poe as the winner, helping Poe begin his legendary literary career.
John Hazlehurst Boneval Latrobe died on September 11, 1891. He was laid to rest in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore. Today, his family records and written autobiography are carefully preserved in the Maryland State Archives so students can explore his life and many achievements.
